Thank you Jay Hayden and Thunderwolf7226 for reviewing last chapter...
...Three months is probably too long between updates... Probably, but I can't change the past. Hope people are still reading this.
Hikaru wished they could die. Or at least wished this sight could last forever. Either-or.
Sitting in the infirmary bed with their leg propped by straps, and an ice pack on their forehead, they stared as their "doctor" administered to them.
It was exactly just like a scene from a manga or anime.
Ranger's eye was glaring intently at the clipboard that held their current symptoms. They could see his eye scan over each of the boxes as he ticked them once. Twice. A third time. Then he sighed and turned towards Hikaru. They had their face half hidden by blankets, and ignoring the horrible heat atop their skin.
"It seems that the minotaur general squalor and filth infected your wounds prior to actually treating them with ambrosia and ichor," Ranger remarked as he inspected Hikaru. His singular blue eye roving their body with a calmness and feeling of a professional..
"How long till it gets better?" They asked tentatively. Ranger considered this for a minute whilst pulling back.
"Well, its only a residual infection. The ichor you ingested should clear it out within a day or two. The leg will also be fine within the end of the week as well." Ranger put the chart down.
Another patient in the infirmary seem to call for his attention, pulling him away. Hikaru let out a deep breath they hadn't known they were holding. Putting their hands over their face and breathing slowly, they tried to calm the reverberating beating in their chest.
It's just a crush. Just a crush. Just like the one with Matt, Ada, Bastion, Chenelle, Sam- They stopped their train of thought before it could go further down the rabbit hole.
It's just a nice guy, a nice hot attractive boy. Just some fleeting interest from female-Hikaru's hormones. It'll go away soon... Besides, he wouldn't like my… Problem. A dark cloud ascended over them at their somber though. Then they looked over there hands to see Ranger lean over to examine someone else. Their shirt rode up to reveal a smooth toned back, and suddenly the giddy feeling was back, in more ways than one.
"Gettin' a nice eyeful, eh? Excellent taste as always Ru."
"Meep!"
Hikaru quickly whirled around to see the pearly white teeth of one Caspian Fisher, their older half-brother. Cas sat on the infirmary room chairs, hands immaculately clasped together while his long hair obscured just enough of his eyes for Hikaru to not know what he was thinking of.
"I must say, quite a fine catch little one," Cas rambled on with a mirthful laugh. Hikaru only squawked indignantly before slapping Cas on the arm repeatedly. "Though something about him is odd, though I assume that's why you like him, eh Hikaru?"
"S-Shut up!" They hissed. Cas only laughed and held his arms up in surrender, and eventually, they relented their assault. "Why are you here?"
"What? Am I not supposed to come when I hear that my darling younger sibling passes out just mere moments after calling their pop and just after slaying the minotaur?" His large brown eyes, while looked warm and playful, spoke volumes of concern for a fraction of a second. Then it became full playful. "Turns out you got sick by something else entirely."
"H-Huh?" Hikaru stuttered out, gripping the end of their blanket in apprehension. "W-What do you mean?"
"Its incurable, but strangely a son of Apollo can cure it. Only one however," Cas replied gravely. Hikaru gripped the blanket even tighter.
"It's called," he paused for dramatic effect for his part, "Love-Sickness. We can thank Uncle Eros for that one."
One second. Two seconds. Three-
"Watashi ga kirainahito o dainashi ni shinaide kudasai! Damare! Damare! Damare!" (Don't mess with me asshole! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!)*
"Agh! I give! I give!" Cas raised his arms once again under the even harder assault that Hikaru gave. "I only speak Greek, English, Italian, and some German! Japanese is not in my repitoire!"
"Uh, what's going on here?"
Both turned stone still when they heard a deep and low voice cut in. Mechanically Hikaru turned her head to see a rather confused looking Ranger staring at them. They felt a hear rush on their face, what's to say? Ranger had the whole "cluelessly adorable" expression down pat, how he could do it with one was beyond anyone's comprehension.
This meant that Hikaru was entirely powerless under this unlimited assault. The sight vexing to their preception. Blood rushed to their ears as they tried to formulate words that weren't Japanese. It wasn't that sucessful, and Ranger only grew more confused at the babble.
Luckily Cas was able to easily fix the situation. Sliding and standing out of the chair only one with extreme amounts of confidence and eccentrics could do, he immediately shook Ranger's hand.
"Afte'noon to you Doc, I'm Cas Fisher, 'ead Councilor for the Hermaphroditus cabin. Ah must thank you immensely for taking care of dear 'ol 'ikaru here. They ain't got much sense in the noggin when it comes to 'er 'ealth," he chorused with a blinding smile. Ranger only blinked, his American hearing much too overloaded to even try to decipher Cas's terrible rendition of an English cockney accent.
"Uh... What?" He responded in question. Cas only smiled and pulled the younger boy into a side embrace.
"No, no need to be humble. We of the Hermaphroditus cabin all fully allow whatever you need. Just remember, safety first!" With a salute, Cas easily slid away from Ranger and from Hikaru's horrified gaze and slipped out through an open window.
The sound of Cas falling two stories and landing was heard, coupled by the scram of several Aphrodite girls at his sudden appearance.
"Ladies!"
"I... He... Huh?!" Ramger looked even more disheveled than when he first ran into the infirmary carrying the fainted Hikaru. "What just happened?"
"It is better to simply forget what even happened..." Hikaru added morosely as they flopped back onto the bed. Ranger only blinked, and began to say something.
He stopped once he saw Hikaru's eyes close and they began to breathe evenly, asleep. With a small unconscious smile, Ranger fluffed up Hikaru's pillow so that their neck won't cramp when they awake and double checked the straps of their leg harness before leaving.
I'll ask her tomorrow then... He thought with a boost of confidence that began to quickly drain the more he thought of it. After the campfire. I'll ask her...
He never did, a week later Hikaru was discharged without Ranger ever making an attempt. While one silently lamented over their inactivity, the other felt liberated from any future embarrassing interactions that would ensure. Bad enough that Cas sometimes brought their with him when they visited them, but all of their siblings each gave Ranger their blessing in some form or another.
Hikaru felt themselves finally fully relax after being discharged from the Camp Infirmary. After the cumulative week of being examined, observed, and treated by Ranger, they needed to get away before they do something stupid.
Like kissing him.
They shook their head clear of those thoughts. After finally getting the cast off, they wanted to test the mobility of their leg. So they decided on a simple walk.
Leaving their cabin after getting changed, they laced up a pair of Doc Martens before walking around camp. Hands in the pocket of their skinny jeans, they milled around Camp Half-Blood.
She waved to her half brothers and sister, lead by Cas, at the canoe lake. Nerdaids waved to them as they walked along their river bank. One even asked if they could tie up their hair for them, but Hikaru declined. They rather preferred it to be free rather than tied up.
They saw the sights of camp. The arts and crafts station dominated by children of Hephaestus and Hecate. Hermes children were monitoring the camp store, or pulling pranks on the other cabins. Children of Ares were wrestling with Children of Nike. Children of Iris were on the rock wall, the lava section especially.
They even spotted Ada, looking a little more tired than what they remembered, leading a pale girl and a hellhound puppy around. Not the strangest thing since the Hecate girl, Wendy, brought a baby dragon.
Now that was a weird year. Hikaru thought to themselves before coming upon the little practice ground for sword practice. Tentatively, they edged towards the practice field. The sound of clashing blades making them itch for "Kardiá" and "Kefáli".
Their sword and shield respectively. Pulling at chain on clipped to their waist, a blade and scabbard materialized along their side as Hikaru drew the blade. The blade itself was not of pure Greek origin, but also had some Japanese influence. A long handle fit for one and a half hands, while its guard was rounded. The blade was also shaped much like a standard xiphos, but crafted longer and curved while molded by way of folding the Celestial bronze atop each other.
Entering the field, their body likewise changed. Shoulder began to grow more fuller as muscles seem to become more pronounced. An air of aggressiveness and testosterone surrounded Hikaru as their male form came into being.
"Hikaru! Out of the sick beds I see!"
Turning, Hikaru saw a familiar red plumed helmet. Taking it off, a tan faced youth with fiery eyes of black. A crooked grin plastered on his face while his two blades were strapped to his side.
"Matt! You're back!" Hikaru cheered as he went to hug the child of Lyssa. Matt, full name Matthew Eld, likewise responded. Hugging the smaller boy in a near painful embrace.
"Been back for a week or two after finding the Nicole Party" he responded with a laugh. "Care for a spar?"
"That's why I came here!"
Pulling his shield and sword up, Hikaru crouched low. The tip of Kardiá pointed at Matt in a classic Japanese kendo stance. Matt for his part drew his blades into his own signature grips, holding them so them so that one was held normally and one held with the blade pointed behind.
Pushing off his read leg, Hikaru went in for an overhead strike. The sheer force and power behind the strike could easily overpower most forms of traditntal guards.
Matt raised his blades up, one being supported by the other, and caught Hikaru's blade. The scissoring of Matt's blades locking Hikaru's in place.
Both were now at an impasse.
"You've gotten faster," Hikaru grunted before pushing Matt back with a shove of his guard. Matt only laughed as he began to spin his blades.
"Nope, you've gotten slower." Then he dashes forward. The two met once more, this time Hikaru was prepared. Grasping his blade with two hands, he deflected one of Matt's blades, before twisting his own. Circling, he sent Matt's other blade spinning into a tree.
Hikaru's blade aimed up at Matt's throat victoriously.
Matt's smirk had a tinge of worry on it, but stayed nonetheless. He carefully moved his finger so the pointed moved away from his throat.
"Hikaru. You won. Move the blade." Hikaru hadn't moved. Rather, his purple eyes stared endlessly at Matt, who by now began to sweat nervously.
Then all at once, everything became relaxed and natural, in more ways than one. Pulling away his blade, Hikaru's body shape began to slowly revert to its original state of sexlessness. Rounded shoulders, less muscle definition, softer facial features.
"Jeez. Thought you went off the deep end this time," Matt laughed as he rubbed his neck. Hikaru only formed a small smile before sheathing their blade. Matt only sighed as he went to retrieve his own blades.
It took a bit to pull out the one in the tree, but eventually pulled it free. Hikaru however winced as they rubbed their leg, their bout a little too extraneous for their recent injury.
"I thought your leg was healed?" Matt asked with a rueful grin. Hikaru only snorted before punching Matt's shoulder.
"Treated, not heal-Ah!" Hikaru squealed as an elbow needled their ribs. They tried to push the larger boy off, but to no avail. Mostly because he was one of the only other people besides their family to, and an absent need to actually push him off.
"You're leg must've been really hurt for you not to notice that," Matt laughed triumphantly. He tried to needle their ribs once more, but a rough chop to his neck sent him jolting away as he let out a sharp cry. Hikaru only smirked triumphantly before thinking of the last time they and Matt spoke.
It was just little over a month ago...
"You're going on a quest?"
"Yup. Some Demigods got lost in the Sea of Monsters, so me, Ben, and Zack are going to rescue them."
"What about the Charydbis and Scylla? And Polymephus? Not to mention the Sirens!"
"Don't worry. We got the Hephaestus Cabin's pride and joy, the Black Pearl."
"That's still a machine! You three are still flesh and blood!" A wierd panicking feeling erupted in their heart. The same "doki doki" feeling they normally saw in manga. Did that mean- "I-"
"I'm just glad I have a friend who cares waiting for me back home."
"O-Oh..."
"What were you going to say?"
"... Come back alive, or I'm make sure that you'll never get to train with my Uncle."
"Ha! Just for that, maybe I'll see if we can get "lost" and end up in Japan! See ya soon Hikaru!"
"... Is this the infamous friend-zone?"
Hikaru repressed a sigh as they remembered that weird feeling. Tk this day, they still weren't sure what sort of feeling that was. Was it some form of love? Did they love Matt? And why was it different from what they felt with Ranger? Everything just felt so confusing!
At the current time, however, they were hearing Matt regaling the tale of his quest to save the stranded half-blooda. Ben, a son of Hecate, and Zack, a daughter of Eerebus, likewise had joined him after their make-out session by the lake.
"So Nicole's party got trapped in near Siren Island?"
"Yup. Killed a siren to save them. Man are they loud," Matt boasted. Zack rolled her eyes before signing towards Hikaru.
'He cut off its head. I tied it down.'
"I expected that," Hikaru laughed.
"And you guys killed the Minotaur? What's up with that?"
"Yup. Ada, Bastion, and I met up in Ohio," Hikaru stated. "Lady Hecate needed its head for a recipe of some kind."
"Mom did?" Ben questioned in slight apprehension. "The only spell the head of a Minotaur would be would-Oh. Excuse me, I must talk to Chiron." With that, he stood up and briskly made his way towards the Big House.
The other three stared in apprehension at his retreating figure.
'What could that be about?'
"I... Don't know. Hecate's experiments rarely spell good tidings for us," Hikaru muttered. Lightning cracked overhead, and all three looked up cautiously.
"Yeah well, whatever happens, us Demigods can take it. We got Camp Half-Blood, Camp Jupiter, and even New Byzantium. We can handle anything!"
"Don't raise flags you fool!"
The weird panicking was back, however it was different. It felt like... Longing...
Notes:
*Hikaru sometimes speaks in Japanese. Why? Well, it won't be for the reasons you expect.
Hikaru's second chapter, as they will always start the cycle. Side note, Hikary will be a little fluid when it comes to pronouns, whatever I use is the gender in which Hikaru is currently. He denotes male, she denotes female, they denotes ambiguity.
On the otherhand, flags have definetly been raised, and Hecate's "ritual" is only the tipping point. Anyone care to guess what the overlying conflict our heroes will hope to best? State it in the reviews section, and I'll see how far off the mark or close to what it actually is. Until then, see you all later.